<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110914110/636ba4b39c7e80680e07367fjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"/><figcaption>Children in Gai Jatra procession in Kathmandu on Tuesday even as the risk of COVID-19 looms over the capital. Participants have however taken to wearing masks as mandated by the government while partaking in festivals. Photo: MONIKA DEUPALA</figcaption></figure>Prime Minister K P Oli held a meeting with 20 public health experts on Tuesday to discuss steps to deal with COVID-19, especially in <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/heightened-covid-19-risk-at-india-nepal-border/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">cities bordering India</a> – a sign that his government is taking a recent surge in cases seriously.The meeting came as Nepal reported 259 new cases on Tuesday, taking the total number so far to 21,009 and the number of fatalities up by one to 58. Kathmandu Valley detected 62 new cases and now has 727 confirmed cases (481 active) with 5 deaths.The government this week put six districts with over 200 cases (Kathmandu, Rautahat, Kailali, Mahottari, Parsa and Doti) in the Red Zone. (see map) In Kathmandu, 72 staff at Nepal Police Headquarters have tested positive and the premises are sealed off.<a style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/lockdown-may-be-over-but-pandemic-is-not/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Lockdown may</a>be over, but pandemic is not, Editorial<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110914110/636ba4b69c7e80680e073680jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1275" height="1650"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Speaking at the interaction, Prime Minister Oli said: “We must lower the infection rate to zero, and treat those who are sick. But as long as we keep the border open, there will be more cases ... so we have to test them before allowing them to travel to home districts.”Experts present noted that although the numbers are rising, the World Health Organisation (WHO) still puts Nepal in the ‘cluster spread’ stage, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/lockdown-may-be-over-but-pandemic-is-not/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">where the virus is not showing community transmission</a>. They advise the government against re-imposing a lockdown, saying it was not a long-term solution.Most public health experts favour a ‘smart lockdown’ where localities with cluster outbreaks are sealed off, and tested – while strictly enforcing masks in public places and preventing crowds.Since the lockdown was lifted on 21 July, the rate of infection has increased to 3.37%, indicating rapid spread in districts bordering India where all major cities like Birganj, Bitartnagar, Dhandagi, Nepalganj, Janakpur and Rajbiraj are under curfew.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110914110/636ba4b99c7e80680e073681jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1265" height="822"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Officials in Kathmandu Valley are also said to be considering lockdown, but experts say it is more advisable to seal off neighbourhoods rather than a strict blanket closure.Medical experts fear that another shutdown is likely to kill more people than the disease it seeks to control, as people with non-coronavirus ailments cannot get to hospital for treatment, and the economy suffers even more, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/covid-19-leaves-millions-of-south-asian-children-hungry/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">lowering nutrition levels</a> of people.Government figures show that there were <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/children-are-collateral-damage-in-nepal-lockdown/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">30% more child deaths in April-May</a> this year compared to last year. <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/birth-and-death-during-a-pandemic/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Maternal mortality has also gone up</a> because many more mothers gave birth at home instead of going to hospital. There has been a <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/meanwhile-a-measles-outbreak-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">spike in measles</a> and other infections because of delays in vaccination campaigns.“A lockdown is not the solution to the coronavirus crisis. We must first analyse why we did not do the previous four months to take measures to control the spread,” says Sher Bahadur Pun of the Ministry of Health, “another lockdown will not make a difference.”Pun adds that uncontrolled movement of people across districts during the lockdown with thousands crossing the Indian border to reach their homes, led to the flare-up in the infection.“It is only going to get worse from here, especially as winter approaches,” predicts Buddha Basnyat of Patan Academy of Health Sciences. “We have to accept this and prepare for it, but another lockdown is only the last resort.”Basnyat says the government has to get on a war-footing to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/open-and-shut-case/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">increase testing in the Tarai districts</a> enforce mask-wearing and physical distancing, and as the number of severe cases rise, develop a treatment taskforce.Hospitals should be better equipped to handle the increase in symptomatic and severe coronavirus cases being seen now, with clear treatment guidelines identifying the most effective drugs and therapies for Nepalis, so there is no expensive over-prescription.As the ICUs get filled up, there is an urgent need for ventilators and oxygen concentrators, Basnyat adds. There are now 36 patients with COVID-19 across the country, with 23 in Bagmati Province, which includes Kathmandu Valley. Birganj is said to have reached saturation in ICU capacity, and hospitals in other Tarai cities are also filling up.Health experts say that while Nepal may not be able to build hospitals in a week like Wuhan did, the government can start mass testing in the high-risk zones, set up tents and ICU beds and stockpile life-saving drugs and medical equipment.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110914110/636ba4bd9c7e80680e073682jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="858" height="671"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Experts are also advocating for regular mass testing in cities with more movement of people. And if there is indeed another lockdown, they say testing in densely populated urban centres is a must.A recent surveillance based on swab samples of 10,000 of the people who entered Kathmandu Valley last week found that 0.7% of them tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. Despite this seemingly low positivity rate, health officials say that the finding is significant because those individuals would have been carriers in their families and communities.More worryingly, there is now a rise in cases with serious symptoms across Tarai districts, unlike in the past when most were asymptomatic or had co-morbidity. Hospitals in the Tarai are seeing a surge of typical COVID-19 symptoms with advanced pneumonia.“Most hospitals and doctors in Nepal are now starting to feel the devastation this virus can cause, as it did in Lombardy, New York and parts of India,” says Buddha Basnyat. “Which is why despite low fatality rate in this part of the world and the concept of herd immunity, there is no time to be complacent.”A rise in influenza in the rainy season could also be a reason for misdiagnosis because flu and COVID-19 have similar symptoms. Experts suggest flu to be tested with COVID-19, especially as winter approaches.But even with all the planning in the world, strategies, drugs and medical infrastructure, the most effective tools against the virus are the three <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/prevention-while-searching-for-a-cure/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">simple safety measures</a>: physical distance, masks and hand hygiene.Says Sher Bahadur Pun: “Testing, tracing and treating are important. Government action is crucial. But how strictly Nepalis follow safety guidelines and adapt it into their everyday lives will make the most difference.”

Sonia Awale

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Experts caution against extending Nepal lockdown

Their names are so unpronounceable for Nepalis that Gereltungalog Erdenetsogt has the nickname ‘Ge’, and Giovanni Viradi calls himself ‘Gio’. The two world travellers have been stuck in Nepal since March because of the COVID-19 lockdown, but like it so much here that they have <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/many-foreigners-stay-put-in-nepal/" target="_blank">decided not to be repatriated on evacuation flights</a>.
Ge and Gio met last year in Laos, and were immediately drawn to each other by their passion for the martial arts. They came to Nepal on a trek, have been here ever since, teaching children karate and taekwondo.
“We considered going back, but Nepal made us feel at home and there are really good people who have been helpful,” says Ge, who is from Mongolia. Gio is from Italy and says it did not make sense going back to his country at a time when the coronavirus pandemic was at its peak.
<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/many-foreigners-stay-put-in-nepal/" target="_blank">Many foreigners stay put in Nepal</a>, Sonia Awale and Marty Logan
<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/travellers-stuck-in-nepal-help-locals-in-need/" target="_blank">Travellers stuck in Nepal help locals in need</a>, Sonia Awale
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Despite their different cultural backgrounds, the two are united by their zeal for martial arts. Besides giving martial arts tutorials to children in an orphanage in Panauti, the two have also been regularly recording a ‘Quarantine Self-defence Series’ on the terrace of their house in Swayambhu and posting it on the Internet.
“Karate can have a social focus and can be used as a powerful took for the empowerment of women and for anti-bullying campaigns,” says Ge, who adds that the lockdown period in Nepal has given them time to train, meditate and reassess their lives.
Ge, 32, was brought up in a nomadic lifestyle in the Mongolian steppe, got tired of a sedentary career in Shanghai and quit for a backpack life. On the other side of the world, thirty four-year-old Gio also quit his job as a chef in England and also headed out into the world.
<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/girl-gurkhas/" target="_blank">Girl Gurkhas</a>, Monika Deupala
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Their separate trajectories brought them together in Laos last year, and they decided to explore Asia, pursue their interest in the martial arts. and are known by their Instagram handle, Karate Travellers.
“I was hooked to Bruce Lee movies when I was a kid, and did not like cartoons,” recalls Gio. “Dad even took me to a karate dojo and encouraged me to take part in tournaments.” Ge is also sporty, is experienced in taekwondo and nunchaku, and the two are a perfect fit.
The two put on their dobok karate robes every morning, set their tripod on the terrace to &nbsp;record their choreographed karate tutorials with a backdrop of the stupa on the hill, and post them online.
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Every Asian country has its own karate tradition, and the two train with locals to learn the nuances, and add to their repertoire. Gio explains: “We started to use karate as cross-cultural bridge, travelled different countries used martial arts as language to communicate with people from different cultures, and for self-improvement.”
For free-spirited travellers like Ge and Gio, the lockdown could have been like prison, but they have turned it to their advantage. Says Ge: “We decided to make lemonade out of sour lemon by keeping our minds busy and our body fit.”
With Nepal’s international flight ban set to be lifted in three weeks, the two may not have to wait much longer to go out into the world again.
<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/kathmandu-airport-gets-facelift-during-lockdown/" target="_blank">Kathmandu airport gets facelift during lockdown</a>, Raju Banskota

Monika Deupala

Karate Travellers in Kathmandu

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121112/636b8bc49c7e80680e06b2bfjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1026"/><figcaption>Photo: MARTY LOGAN</figcaption></figure>China and India, it is reported, are willing to provide medical equipment and medicine to Nepal. Surely, this isn’t news. Nepal’s giant neighbours would have responded positively to such a request two months ago, when it was already obvious that Nepal lacked masks, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/protecting-those-who-protect-us-from-the-epidemic/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">PPEs</a>, and <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-to-test-covid-19-test-kits-from-china/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Covid-19 tests</a> to prevent an outbreak. The reason this was headline-worthy was that the inquiry had come from the Nepal Army.Given the utter failure of the government to react to the shortage of equipment and test kits in a timely manner, and to get the big things right means the smaller ways in which we all react to the threat are going to take on a larger dimension.<a style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-must-hope-for-the-best-prepare-for-the-worst/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nepal must hope for the best, prepare for the worst</a>, Buddha Basnyat and Sudeep AdhikariYet what I see in my neighbourhood, and in the media, does not give confidence. The neighbourhood market had white circles on the pavement to indicate correct physical distancing, but they have faded away. Whether people observe proper spacing seems dependent more on their attraction to a certain product than any rule. When a pick-up truck loaded with huge, round lauka pulls up a crowd starts to gather. A passing policeman does not intervene.It is positive that most people in Kathmandu are wearing face masks, though some are too small to cover both mouth and nose, making them useless. Worryingly, one seller who is the hub of activity in a shop — weighing and bagging produce, taking money and making change — does not even bother to wear one.<a style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/ke-garne-attitude-kills-people/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ke garne attitude kills people</a>, Laxmi BasnetWalking home, I can empathise with children released for a few hours from lockdown out on their street playing cricket (although they shouldn’t be). But as I gaze aimlessly from a first-floor balcony one long afternoon, I am annoyed to see a group of four neighbours across the street sitting in a circle playing cards.Maybe it is time local leaders followed the example of mayors in Italy who amused people around the world when they took to social media — and in some cases to the streets — to excoriate their citizens who were not obeying the lockdown. And there was the Chinese official who at a press conference lambasted Italian officials for not keeping people at home. “What are you thinking?” he asked.<a style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/philanthropy-in-the-time-of-pandemic/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Philanthropy in the time of pandemic</a>, Shristi Karki There is a story from Canada of a 30-year-old gym owner and long-distance cyclist who met a friend who had recovered from the coronavirus. They chatted, being extra careful to maintain distance, yet the super-fit cyclist still fell sick, at one feverish stage passing out alone in his apartment. Recovering now, he was still sleeping 11-12 hours per night as his shattered body rejuvenated itself.That is the scenario we should be preparing for: an illness so devastating that it can knock out the toughest among us. Yet, it appears that subconsciously many Nepalis, officials included, have internalised the notion that ‘it is not going to happen here’. Or perhaps the relaxed approach results from lockdown fatigue after more than three weeks of having our movements curtailed, and it has been extended till 27 April.<a style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/being-zen-about-zoom/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Being zen about Zoom</a>, Tashi T SherpaThis is not to diminish the efforts of health workers and other frontline personnel who put themselves at heightened risk daily with scant support to take care of patients. Abiding by the lockdown is extremely difficult for many people, including daily wage earners and suddenly unemployed migrants. In fact, governments need to do more to ensure that their precarious situations do not worsen.Going through the motions to prevent an outbreak is useless: we will not get a second chance to prevent an epidemic that could ravage the country. Now is when leaders need to step up and take charge to ensure that people are strictly adhering to the rules. I am not confident they will, given reports of border points being opened post-lockdown to allow people to return home and of quarantine centres where patients are sharing beds and cigarettes, but it is far past the time to get serious.

Marty Logan

Shape up the lockdown

<figure><img width="3600" height="2400" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109101156/636b7a0f9c7e80680e06473bjpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Photo: RSS</figcaption></figure>Nepal’s <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepal-goes-into-lockdown-for-a-week/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepal-goes-into-lockdown-for-a-week/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1585288027108000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGBOO6fdVYDFD5e3Wnptm9tyX6YWA">one week lockdown</a> is supposed to go on till 31 March, but that appears to be an attempt by the government to convey the bad news to the public in small doses. It is likely to be extended at least till the Nepali New Year on 13 April, to match the duration of the Indian curfew.Such a prolonged shutdown forces us to look beyond the present need for containment to plan for the crises that are sure to manifest themselves in the near future — food shortages, economic hardship, social unrest and political instability. The virus and its response have exposed and exacerbated existing socio-economic inequities in Nepali society, exclusion and injustice. A post this week by an Indian doctor about the class dimension of physical distancing is as applicable to Nepal: ‘Social distancing is a privilege. It means you live in a house large enough to practise it. Hand washing is a privilege too. It means you have access to running water. Hand sanitisers are a privilege. It means you have money to buy them. Lockdowns are a privilege. It means you can afford to be at home. A disease spread by the rich as they flew around the globe will now kill millions of the poor.’ As has been underlined by Nepal’s civil society, a caring government will not just lock down the whole country to defeat the virus, but also lay down a <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/nepal-locked-down-now-what/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">social safety net for those most affected by the economic standstill</a>  Businesses and factories may need a stimulus package so jobs are not lost, but it is those who depend on day-to-day earnings who need urgent assistance. Developing countries are not known for efficient service delivery and good governance at the best of times. But this crisis demands that they step up to the challenge of quickly finding a mechanism to rescue the most vulnerable with cash grants if necessary.Even Europe and North America have been caught unprepared to deal with the scope and spread of this pandemic. It is now the urban poor in the Global South where new COVID-19 infection clusters will hit hardest, exposing pre-existing disparities in access to medical care and food.The global nature of this pandemic has hit Nepal’s economy hard because of our overwhelming reliance on foreign worker remittances and tourism. Many <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepalis-quarantined-in-qatar/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepalis-quarantined-in-qatar/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1585288027108000&amp;usg=AFQjCNF2C1eR8lFlajr8lavY2n7GELTl2A">Nepali workers are stranded</a> in Malaysia, the Gulf, or in Indian cities, and need to be rescued, Citizens cannot be prevented from entering their own country. With the curfew likely to be extended by two more weeks at least, the High-level Task Force must now turn its attention to ensuring adequate supply of food and other essentials. Kathmandu cannot micromanage all ground level problems, local governments must be given the authority and the resources to act. Medical care workers need <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/protecting-those-who-protect-us-from-the-epidemic/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/protecting-those-who-protect-us-from-the-epidemic/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1585288027108000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFWbAJJAHz83hStB-54Mp8vYHLKCg">personal protective equipment (PPE),</a> we need more ventilators and isolation wards so that they do not have to risk their lives while saving the lives of the sick.It is just four days into the curfew, and for a lot of people it is finally sinking in that the world as we knew it has been turned upside down. One-third of the world’s population is in lockdown, the global economy is shattered, and even though the virus afflicts rich and poor alike, it is the poorest in the poor countries who are most vulnerable to the economic aftershocks of the pandemic.It feels like a nightmare, and it is hard to remember the pre-Corona days when all we had to worry about was <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-climate-connection-to-covid-19/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-climate-connection-to-covid-19/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1585288027108000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHViUDV7mR5rozFrP3sY7BaScggMw">climate change</a>. Maybe one day when this virus is vanquished, there will be a new way of thinking and living. Let us hope that we mitigate the cause of the climate emergency with the same global resolve as we did this crisis. The projected number of deaths just from heat stress due to global heating in the next decades is going to run into tens of millions. The COVID-19 lockdowns confine people to their homes, but as sea levels rise many will not have homes. And the climate crisis itself will unleash new kinds of pestilence.   And just like with the climate, there are countries which are still in denial about the pandemic, or leaders who have acted too late and let their citizens pay the price with their lives. A teleconference of G-7 foreign ministers was deadlocked on Wednesday over the United States passing all the blame of the pandemic on China. Yet, we have also seen unprecedented international resolve. The World Health Organisation has coordinated national responses so that most countries are in shutdown at least till mid-April. It now needs to pay special attention to poorer countries, and the poorest who live in them.		
			<h2>10 years ago this week</h2>		
		10 years ago this week <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/issue/495" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://archive.nepalitimes.com/issue/495&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1585288027108000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGV3NKmG6nDjGkiiV6bNiEWgJDYqQ">Nepali Times #495 of 26 March-1 April 2010</a> examined the fallout of the death of Nepali Congress leader and Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala who was responsible for bringing a dramatic political shift in Nepal was often termed as a ‘National Guardian’. An excerpt: Throughout the last week, the media has been abuzz with the passing of former prime minister and president of the Nepali Congress. The weight of commentary has now shifted from the late Koirala’s achievements and failings to the political vacuum that has been created at this critical juncture in Nepali politics.               But it is not just about who is going to succeed to the NC presidency: Sher Bahadur Deuba, Ram Chandra Paudel or Sushil Koirala.

Lockdown Fallout

While the streets of Kathmandu were erupting violent GenZ protests that brought down the government, Nepal’s athletes were achieving different kinds of breakthroughs on Spain’s mountain trails and in the cricket qualifiers in the UAE.&nbsp; On 27 September, two weeks after the uprising back home, Nepal's cricket team stunned the sporting world with their first-ever victory against a full member nation — defeating two-time World Cup champions West Indies by 19 runs, then crushing them by 90 runs two days later to seal a historic 2-0 series victory. On that very day, 5,000km away in the Spanish Pyrenees Sunmaya Budha stood on a podium alongside American and European champions, clutching a silver medal from the 3rd World Mountain and Trail Running Championships. No Asian athlete had ever finished this high in the Long Trail competition at the World Championships. While youth back home showed they would not tolerate injustice and could carve their own future, young Nepalis were securing it on the global sports stage even in moments of national crisis.&nbsp; The Long Trail event at the 2025 World Championships was designed to break even the strongest athletes. Stretching 82km through the Spanish Pyrenees, the course features an unrelenting 5,413m of elevation gain and descent.&nbsp; Athletes faced everything from steep scree slopes to narrow ridge lines, from boulder fields requiring scrambling to precipitous descents demanding total concentration. One misstep could mean injury, one lapse in focus could cost precious minutes.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025101909108_81152b4754331c4858ed2d0d28204e6a92559faf089fea9ebc84156766ff228a.png" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="2025101909108_81152b4754331c4858ed2d0d28204e6a92559faf089fea9ebc84156766ff228a" data-rendition-name="original" width="977" height="731" loading="lazy" alt="World Mountain and Trail Running Championships"> <figcaption>The Nepal team at the World Championships 2025 with the final four: Sangge Sherpa, Sunmaya Budha, Suman Kulung, Man Kumar Roka Magar. Photo: PREETI KHATTRI</figcaption> </figure>  WOMEN'S COMPETITION Katie Schide (USA) - Winner • Time: 9:57:59 • Average pace: 7:18 per km&nbsp; &nbsp; <a href="https://www.facebook.com/sunmaya.budha.942">Sunmaya Budha </a>(Nepal) - Silver Medal • Time: 10:23:03 • Gap behind winner: 25 minutes and 4 seconds • Average pace: 7:36 per km Most recreational trail runners need 18-24 hours to complete this course, if they can finish it at all. Budha's pace means she was running at a speed that most casual runners could not maintain on a flat course, let alone while constantly climbing and descending mountains. MEN'S COMPETITION Jim Walmsley (USA) - Winner • Time: 8:35:11 • Average pace: 6:17 per kilometer (10:07 per mile) &nbsp; <a href="https://www.facebook.com/runnersumankulung">Suman Kulung (Nepal)</a> - 32nd Place • Time: 10:06:25 • Average pace: 7:24 per km • Finished 1 hour 31 minutes behind the winner • Best performance by an Asian male athlete &nbsp; <a href="https://www.facebook.com/rokamagarmankumar764">Man Kumar Roka Magar (Nepal)</a> - 37th Place • Time: 10:10:53 • Average pace: 7:27 per km • Finished just 4.5 minutes behind Kulung <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Yetimannnnn">Sangge Sherpa (Nepal)</a> - 116th Place • Time: 12:33:09 • Average pace: 9:11 per km  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025101909108_2255845b43e68b14d3b111099124f9c98898bbe9016299b9af278aca8b4377f7.png" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="2025101909108_2255845b43e68b14d3b111099124f9c98898bbe9016299b9af278aca8b4377f7" data-rendition-name="original" width="977" height="904" loading="lazy" alt="World Mountain and Trail Running Championships"> <figcaption>Sangge Sherpa organising himself post gear check in Can-Franc.</figcaption> </figure>  The men's winner averaged about 6:17/km on a course where elite mountain runners were struggling. Kulung and Roka Magar maintained a 7:24-7:27/km pace—faster than many recreational runners' easy flat road pace. They were faster than dozens of European athletes who train in the Alps. Even Sherpa's 9:11/km average pace over 12+ hours represents an extraordinary feat of endurance, maintaining forward progress on some of the most challenging mountain terrain in competitive trail running. “What set Budha apart was her exceptional descending ability. She recorded the fastest downhill speed among all women in the competition—a skill honed through years of training on Nepal’s steep mountain trails,” said her team director Ryan S Blair.&nbsp; Sunmaya Budha, ranked world 8th for 100km category events and 17th in the world by the International Trail Running Association (ITRA), entered the race having recently recovered from injuries to both legs.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025101909108_38d8bee04beaa6443480ecf4765e6b34f91d2d105128f292f73702072a820d25.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="2025101909108_38d8bee04beaa6443480ecf4765e6b34f91d2d105128f292f73702072a820d25" data-rendition-name="original" width="1600" height="1070" loading="lazy" alt="World Mountain and Trail Running Championships"> <figcaption>Sunmaya storming in 2nd position. Photo: WMTRC2025 CANFRAC </figcaption> </figure>  While American Katie Schide dominated from the front, Budha found herself in an intense battle for second place with Italy's Fabiola Conti, a specialised skyrace and mountain marathon runner. The two runners remained locked together through much of the course, running side-by-side at key checkpoints and pushing each other through the mountain wilderness. In ultra-trail racing, where climbs are often win by fractions of minutes, the ability to descend fearlessly and efficiently can make the difference between podium positions. Budha's technical prowess on the descents gave her a advantage over her European competitors. The decisive moment came in the final 20km. At the 65km mark, Budha held a 90-second lead over Conti. By 71.5km she had extended her advantage to eight minutes — a commanding gap she maintained to the finish. In a powerful display of national pride, she approached the finish wrapped in the Nepali flag, showing the world what Himalayan athletes can achieve on the global stage. Said Preeti Khattri, team lead for Nepal: "Standing right beside the USA and European peer. Proud. No Asian athletes have ever made it this far.” MEN, TOO While Budha captured headlines with her silver medal, the performances of Suman Kulung and Man Kumar Roka Magar were equally significant. Both athletes topped Asian athletes and numerous European competitors. Suman Kulung delivered a performance that demonstrated extraordinary mental toughness and racing intelligence. What makes his 32nd place finish even more impressive is that 1.5km he encountered a severe bottleneck on narrow technical trails.&nbsp; This critical delay pushed him back to around 92nd position—a devastating setback in a world championship race where every second counts. Many athletes would have been demoralised by such an early disaster.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025101909108_e2f358723ea8abaa262e749a4c6afb0a179cf9f3e0bb4eab1d973e25b9b00f09.png" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="2025101909108_e2f358723ea8abaa262e749a4c6afb0a179cf9f3e0bb4eab1d973e25b9b00f09" data-rendition-name="original" width="668" height="445" loading="lazy" alt="World Mountain and Trail Running Championships"> <figcaption>Suman Kulung coming through 65km Assisted Checkpoint. Photo: DR SIGRID FOUNDATION</figcaption> </figure>  But Kulung showed why he is Nepal's top-ranked trail runner: he launched a spectacular comeback. By the 30km mark, he had charged through the field to reach approximately 20th position — recovering over 70 places in less than 30km.&nbsp; His final time of 10:06:25 placed him ahead of runners from traditional mountain running powers including Switzerland, Austria, and Germany, and was the highest-finishing Asian male athlete in the competition.

Nepali runners score breakthroughs

In 2004, Poet Durga Lal Shrestha asked me to translate 223 little poems from Newa into English. They were each written as sestet-- terse in their form but heavy in imagery and sentiment. The novice translator in me struggled to find the best way to convey his poetry in English-- but the process became a tour as I discovered my mother tongue anew. The highlight, however, was Shrestha’s handwriting. His calligraphy is immaculate. He had given me photocopies from the notebook he had written the poems in and each page looked as though they were freshly out of the press. The letters bore a consistency, unswayed by the emotions of his poetry. Sometimes, I would just stare at the handwriting in admiration.&nbsp; Someone else had been similarly besotted by his writing: “I met him 25 years ago in the UK when he was the chief guest at a Mha Puja event organised by Pasa Pucha,” recollects Ojesh Singh, writer and engineer. “We were roommates. I noticed he couldn’t stop writing.”&nbsp; Shrestha, an octogenarian now, was a teacher at Kanya Mandir School for many years, where his writing was admired by colleagues and students. Known as Janakavi or People’s Poet, a title bestowed on him by the Nepal Bhasha Parishad, Shrestha is also the recipient of the Jagadamba Shree Puraskar for his contribution to literature.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251021071052_b109f2ee6dbac911fb8002e8e8bb33a50a8f755d26662f333535d32c8573e782.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20251021071052_b109f2ee6dbac911fb8002e8e8bb33a50a8f755d26662f333535d32c8573e782" data-rendition-name="original" width="1600" height="900" loading="lazy" alt="Digitising the savant calligrapher NT"> <figcaption>From left to right: Suman Shrestha, Ananda Kumar Maharjan, Durga Lal Shrestha, Ojesh Singh, and Arbindra Man Singh. Photo: SUCHITA SHRESTHA</figcaption> </figure>  “He would write on anything he could lay his hands on. On tissue paper, envelopes, cigarette boxes. It struck me how neat and tidy his writing was,” says Singh. “The structure and size were perfectly in sync-- and as an aspiring graphic designer then, I fell in love with his writing. Later, whenever I read his books, I thought it would be nice to read them in his writing.” After sitting with the notion of turning Shrestha’s writing into a digital font for years, in 2024, he reached out to a small group of people who he thought might be allies.&nbsp; “It was during Ojesh Ji’s book launch that we met and talked about the possibility of turning Durga Lal Shrestha’s writing into font,” recalls Ananda Kumar Maharjan, who has designed the Durga Lal Shrestha font and is affiliated with Callijatra, an organisation promoting Newa calligraphy.&nbsp; For Singh, the desire to immortalise the poet's handwriting wasn’t only coming from personal admiration, it was also about preserving the writing of a language and literature leader and activist. He offered to fund the font project, which meant paying for Maharjan’s time and dedication. He also drew into the conversation Shrestha’s son Suman, who has been an integral part of the process.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251021071056_372dc34ac3ce3b70445128131a11ade8f321756c6cc7615825c4451e85f56374.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20251021071056_372dc34ac3ce3b70445128131a11ade8f321756c6cc7615825c4451e85f56374" data-rendition-name="original" width="616" height="728" loading="lazy" alt="Digitising the savant calligrapher NT"> </figure>  The others involved in the process were journalist Arbindra Man Singh, who had been scanning Shrestha’s writing for the book Hastakshar, a collection of poems printed in the author’s handwriting. Also an enthusiast of converting Shrestha’s writing to a font, Singh provided help in bringing together the scans, based on which Maharjan picked the best letter for each alphabet to create a complete set.&nbsp; “Doing this was different from other font developments I have done in the past,” explains Maharjan, who has also digitised his own handwriting into a font, called Anand. “To create Durga Lal Shrestha’s writing as font, I had to analyse his writing archive and pick the best.”&nbsp; He adds: “There was a book published in his writing, so there were scans and digital archiving done by Arbindra Ji, which became the foundation for my work.” He had to find a prototype for each alphabet based on the scans. He traced the letters on Illustrator and copied them to a MAC software called Glyphs where he had to enter each letter, using a traditional Devanagari keyboard instead of Unicode.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025102108100_2f6b8c0f3cf91682707ac356e11ad50b342a4198f56490ab68d041e875b15edb.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="2025102108100_2f6b8c0f3cf91682707ac356e11ad50b342a4198f56490ab68d041e875b15edb" data-rendition-name="original" width="818" height="766" loading="lazy" alt="Digitising the savant calligrapher NT"> </figure>  “I had to be very careful to keep it accurate. Conjunctions need attention,” Maharjan says. “There are half letters, saint letters, ligatures and open type features to pay attention to, this is more advanced than the fonts I’ve created in the past.” &nbsp; Maharjan has designed this font in three different variations that users can play with. “Writing changes with age. While young, people write better, but with age, it starts to change. Since Durga Lal Shrestha hasn’t been very well lately, his hand shakes when he writes. So, we had to pick the best of his writing from the records,” he adds. “People also tend to write in different styles depending on their mood so we took the best four of every letter and traced and picked one.”&nbsp; Handwriting is deeply intimate and in this day and age of tech, becoming lost.&nbsp; What bothers me about the day of phones is that I no longer know what the writing of those close to me look like. I no longer know how you press the pen between our fingers or how you tilt it against the paper or how you pause to write periods or how the nib makes a perfect tiny orb before you drag it just so, to turn it into a comma. The familiarity of the nuances of someone’s writing is lost on us.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251021071056_2c83ab2c3ed4cfa42e6a6a637d88fd879218fb5b7391e086ab5db1a8ec173654.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20251021071056_2c83ab2c3ed4cfa42e6a6a637d88fd879218fb5b7391e086ab5db1a8ec173654" data-rendition-name="original" width="992" height="1280" loading="lazy" alt="Digitising the savant calligrapher NT"> </figure>  Ojesh Singh agrees with me. He says it’s important to keep handwriting alive as people become more and more tech-dependent. People are likely to interact even less with letters on paper, but at least we can have fonts, he says.&nbsp; A set of six books by poet Durga Lal Shrestha is set to be launched on 31October. One of them, entitled, Kawa, is typeset in the Durga Lal Shrestha Font. The font will be made available to the general public after the books have been released. In July, I had visited Shrestha, who I also call Durga Lal Taaba, as many Newa people in my generation do. Seated in the quiet of his home, he conversed about literature and language with my father and my uncle. Coming out of Taaba, Newa, which has a utilitarian function for me to communicate with my parents, sounded more like a lyric.&nbsp; I asked him what he thinks about his handwriting being archived as a font. He replied: “This body is going to be gone eventually, so I thought maybe my handwriting could live on.” Suburban Tales is a monthly column in Nepali Times based on real people in Pratibha’s life.

Digitising the savant calligrapher

The winter air pollution season started early this year with emissions, Diwali firecrackers and crop residue burning making the air unbreathable across north India. Much of the pollution was transboundary, with prevailing winds carrying the suspended particulates from Pakistan, across India to Nepal and beyond. All this pollution and domestic emissions killed 41,300 in Nepal in 2023, and 85% of all deaths were because of noncommunicable diseases such as heart and lung disease, lung cancer, diabetes, and dementia, according to the State of Global Air (SoGA) 2025 report released Thursday. With the onset of winter, Kathmandu Valley’s own emissions are trapped in a surface inversion layer and as in previous years will have some of the worst air quality in the world.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251023131016_7c42a4e8b0dce01dfeeaaf89dbb10dbfa036b41163f3ebada88c7ce17dbded49.png" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20251023131016_7c42a4e8b0dce01dfeeaaf89dbb10dbfa036b41163f3ebada88c7ce17dbded49" data-rendition-name="original" width="921" height="850" loading="lazy" alt="Air pollution killing season starts early NT"> </figure>  The SoGa report says air pollution has now become the leading risk factor for deaths in Nepal, ahead of tobacco and high blood pressure. Interestingly, while the health impacts due to environmental risk factors such as unsafe water and sanitation have reduced significantly since 2000, the opposite is true for ambient PM2.5 (particles smaller than 2.5 microns). Globally, 7.9 million deaths were attributable to air pollution– about 1 in 8 deaths – in 2023. Of this total, 4.9 million deaths were attributable to PM2.5 exposure, 2.8 million were from household air pollution, and 470,000 were from ozone. Similarly, dementia attributable to air pollution resulted in 626,000 deaths and 40 million healthy years of life lost. And 95% of air pollution attributable deaths in adults over the age of 60 are due to noncommunicable diseases. The burden of noncommunicable diseases in relation to air pollution is rising worldwide and in Nepal. The SoGA report shows that nearly nine of ten global air pollution deaths are from chronic ailments, and half of all respiratory disease deaths are attributable to air pollution.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251023131020_8577f464b4a73007de5dd018b8ac91dae3a9c732dbb81a44b6aa5a0ced7df3df.png" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20251023131020_8577f464b4a73007de5dd018b8ac91dae3a9c732dbb81a44b6aa5a0ced7df3df" data-rendition-name="original" width="1080" height="1080" loading="lazy" alt="Air pollution killing season starts early NT"> </figure>  In Nepal, air pollution is responsible for three out of four COPD deaths, one out of three heart deaths and one out of five diabetes deaths. More than one third of lower respiratory infection deaths were due to air pollution. “The data presented in the State of Global Air report highlight the significant impacts of poor air quality on the health and well-being of billions of people around the world, especially those living in Asia and Africa,” says Pallavi Pant of the Boston-based Health Effects Institute (HEI) that released the report in collaboration with the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation and the NCD Alliance. She adds: “Growing momentum on air quality management across those hard-hit locations, including expansion of air quality monitoring, adoption of air quality regulations, and sector-specific interventions are yielding improvements for those most impacted.” Low- and middle-income countries stand to gain most by reducing air pollution, with particularly strong impacts on children, older populations, and people with pre-existing health conditions. Indeed, of the 41,300 air pollution deaths in 2023 in Nepal, 31,600 were in adults over the age of 60 years and 3,500 in children below five years. Death rate for air pollution in Nepal, which is 178 per 100,000, is more than 10 times higher than high-income countries, which is at 17 per 100,000.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251023131020_604e852aed4ffde0dc7d1df72fcd3e73d904136dfb1bb2407e53b7445f3ef72c.png" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20251023131020_604e852aed4ffde0dc7d1df72fcd3e73d904136dfb1bb2407e53b7445f3ef72c" data-rendition-name="original" width="1078" height="423" loading="lazy" alt="Air pollution killing season starts early NT"> </figure>  “Win-win solutions for air pollution and NCDs exist, with added benefits for climate, physical activity, nutrition, and many other global development priorities,” says Alison Cox, Policy and Advocacy Director at the Geneva-based NCD Alliance. “These policies are effective and deliver a strong return on investment - for the sake of our people and the planet we need to implement them faster.” Fine particle pollution (ambient PM2.5) is the largest driver of air pollution’s burden of disease worldwide as kit attributed to 4.9 million deaths and 124 million healthy years of life lost in 2023. Vehicles, power plants, factories, and homes, as well as agricultural and industrial activities, waste burning and wildfires are some of the biggest sources of pollutants. South Asia is among the regions of the world with the highest exposures to ambient PM2.5 , while more than 36% of people around the world live in areas where PM2.5 levels do not meet even the least stringent interim target. As per the report, 78% of Nepal’s 30 million population lives in areas where annual PM2.5 exposure exceeds the least stringent WHO Air Quality Interim Target of 35 µg/m3. Meanwhile, exposure to household air pollution due to the use of solid fuels for cooking remains an important driver for the disease burden in the country. “Ongoing efforts to meet global development goals are not achievable without directly addressing air pollution,” says Maria Neira, Commissioner of Our Common Air. “Countries and cities must focus their efforts toward reducing air pollution emissions, including household air pollution, which has particularly severe impacts on young children and older people across Asia and Africa.”

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